


For All The Wounds

by alexfayerose



Series: Rude and Reno: A Collection [3]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Anger, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Injury Recovery, M/M, Tseng Being an Asshole, but it's not his fault
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27706369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexfayerose/pseuds/alexfayerose
Summary: If they aren't going to send anyone in to get Reno's partner out, he's going to go in and do it himself.
Relationships: Reno/Rude (Compilation of FFVII)
Series: Rude and Reno: A Collection [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2025479
Comments: 11
Kudos: 42





	For All The Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first in the series that will have two chapters.

It’s all gunshots and the sound of metal on metal, the bitter copper scent of blood in the air. Reno’s at the control column of the helicopter, but he’s working on autopilot above the scene of the fighting. Weapons system went down five minutes ago, and Tseng has ordered him to get out, make a retreat three times, louder each time. Reno continues to stare down at the field of carnage beneath them, eyes wide and processing. 

They’d been told it was going to be easy. Some kind of drug cartel, they were sending Rude in to take care of it. Reno always had reservations about Rude going in to clear anything without him, but it was meant to be something small and simple. They were only supposed to be a group of about four or five, nothing Rude couldn’t handle. What’s happening beneath them is practically a warzone, far more than five, and Reno can’t catch a glimpse of his partner anywhere.

“Reno,” Tseng snaps at him, and Reno bristles, the hair on the back of his neck standing on edge. He doesn’t look at his boss. He feels as though he’s going to snap if he has to look at that steely, dark gaze. “Get out, _now_.”

Reno’s hands jerk on the controls, causing the helicopter to jerk in midair, and he hisses a breath from between his teeth. “Are you sending someone in to get my partner out of this?” he demands. There’s silence in the cockpit. Reno’s teeth snap together, and he jabs the controls to engage auto-hover. Turning to glare over his shoulder, he meets Tseng’s dark-eyed stare. “ _Are you sending someone in to get my partner out of this?_ ” he repeats, voice cold and distinctive, snarled out between his teeth. Fury is causing his entire body to nearly tremble with rage, his fingers in a white-knuckled grip on the back of his seat.

Tseng’s stony silence is answer enough. He has no plan of sending anyone in, and has probably already made peace with the fact that Rude is going to die down there, with no one at his back, no one there to help him or even attempt to save him. Like Rude is  _ dispensable .  _ Reno jerks to his feet, and Elena, in the passenger’s seat of the helicopter, shrinks back like his anger is a tangible substance capable of cutting into her skin. Maybe it is, Rude’s told him often enough that his fury feels like a sword.

“Reno, sit down,” Tseng says firmly. 

“Elena, take control,” Reno orders, ignoring his boss. The blonde hesitates, and then shifts into the driver’s seat, hand gripping onto the control column. It’s in direct defiance of what Tseng would want of her, but perhaps her fear of Reno’s single-minded rage is great enough to defy Tseng. 

Reno moves to open the side door of the helicopter, staring out of it. Gunfire is still going off below, which he hopes means that Rude is still alive and fighting, surviving the way Rude always does, but there are –– Reno doesn’t have enough of a vantage point to count, but more than Rude could handle on his own. More than they could probably handle together, but fuck if he’s not going to try. That’s his partner down there, and he knows that Rude would do the same, damn the odds. 

“If my partner is dead down there,” Reno begins slowly, his voice clipped, “there’s going to be hell to pay.” It’s not even a threat, it’s a solid promise. Anyone who’s seen Reno and Rude working together for longer than ten minutes would know that Reno is not bullshitting. It’s not because they’re sharing a bed now and they have fun fucking around. It’s because, at the barest of it, there’s no one capable of maintaining and equalizing Reno the way that Rude is. Reno is still the loudest and most reckless of the Turks by a vast margin, but Rude is the one who has a finger on that hair trigger temper of his, and they’re so completely in sync with each other one hundred percent of the time that Reno doesn’t remember what his life was before Rude was there as his stabilizer. 

" Your orders are to turn back and return to headquarters,” Tseng reminds him harshly, his hand closing around Reno’s wrist, and Reno wheels around so quickly that he can feel the electric tension crackling in the air of the cockpit around them. Tseng stumbles back a step, off balance. There’s an animalistic snarling filling the space, and it takes Reno a few seconds to realize that it’s coming from  _ him . _

“I’m going down there.”

It’s not a question. It’s not a request. They’re hovering just low enough–– Reno thinks that maybe Elena has even been lowering the helicopter surreptitiously for a moment to give Reno a way out. He could jump without getting hurt, and he plans to, but for the hand that’s still holding his wrist hard enough to bruise. There’s only one person Reno is comfortable enough with to allow them to leave bruises on his wrists, and it sure as hell isn’t his no-nonsense boss, so he yanks his hand free, his left hand clutching on to the doorway of the helicopter to keep his balance.

“You have your orders, Reno,” Tseng repeats sharply, and Reno smiles, but it’s barely a smile. It’s all teeth and sharp edges and fury, like an animal baring its teeth to strike at more vulnerable prey.

“I wasn’t asking permission,” Reno bites out icily.

He steps backwards out of the helicopter and lets gravity pull him down. He shifts in midair at the last second, and his feet hit the ground with a heavy thud that sends a tremor up his spine. No damage, though, and that’s a good thing. Electricity is still crackling in the air just like it had been in the cockpit of the helicopter, and Reno realizes dimly that it’s coming from him. He grips his baton tightly in his left hand, resting it on his shoulder casually as the group of people all holding guns turn towards him.

“Let’s dance, assholes.”

He charges into battle, reckless and headfirst as he always has. If he’s being hit with bullets, he doesn’t feel them, so charged with adrenaline that it’s almost numb. He’s not so irrational to think that he’s not injured, or that he’s not going to just get himself killed, but he’s going to go down fighting. He swings his baton, electricity flying around him, and he feels it pulsing, building and building. The lightning charge surges from his baton and out, spiraling around him, and he’s barely able to reign it in to stop it from actually destroying everything nearby. Bodies hit the ground, the electric charge knocking them off their feet and causing tremors to run through them, and Reno smirks, cold and feral. It’s not over, they’re not dead, but it’s given him a moment of reprieve to actually search for his partner.

In the carnage, Reno finds the frames of Rude’s sunglasses, the glass shattered out of them and scattered over the concrete. Stooping, he picks them up, his fingers curling around them delicately. His blood seems to run icy cold, and he straightens slowly, hands clenching. Eyes find the sky, and he swears under his breath. “If he’s dead…” He lets the thought trail off, teeth gritting. 

A body nearby stirs, and Reno whirls around, jabbing the end of his baton into the would-be assailant’s throat. His thumb hovers over the button of his taser, and the man tenses, lowering his gun before he’s even had a chance to raise it completely. 

“Here’s the deal, shit stain,” Reno begins, voice acidic. “You’re gonna tell me where my partner is –– don’t give me that dumbass look, you know who I’m talking about –– and if he’s not dead, I won’t electrify your face.” 

The gun clatters to the ground loudly, and the man raises both of his hands in surrender. It seems that he’s taking Reno’s threats seriously, probably has gathered the undercurrent of dark promise that layers his tone, and he doesn’t seem to want to mess with it. “Last I saw, he was running towards that building there.” He points with his left hand, though his eyes do not move away from Reno’s gaze, wide and panicked, and Reno feels a shudder of… relief, maybe. Maybe the desire to hope. The odds are still stacked almost entirely against Rude being alive, but he’s not giving up on his partner yet.

Reno doesn’t reply, simply pulling his baton away from the man’s throat and slinging it over his left shoulder. And then, sharply, he raises his leg and kicks him hard, right in the face. The man buckles and falls back, and Reno sneers. “Nighty night, dick.” He turns on his heel and breaks into a dead run towards the building, shouldering the door open. 

The sight that greets him is almost a relief. Almost. Several men are collapsed on the floor, barely breathing, implying that Rude had been putting up one hell of a fight. The others hadn’t had a chance to join them in cornering Rude inside the building before Reno had jumped down and disrupted their plans, and maybe, just maybe –– 

The sight of some feeble stirring around a half wall has Reno’s heart jumping into his throat. “Rude.” He runs to his partner’s side, dropping his baton on the ground as he sinks to his knees. He’s breathing still, but there’s blood on the ground, seeping into the concrete, and Reno feels like he’s been plunged into ice water. “Come on, partner, you’re not allowed to die on me yet.” Shaking fingers fumble with the Turk issued suit jacket, and then jerk the dress shirt underneath open. 

There’s blood. There’s a lot of blood. Reno can’t count for the life of him how many times Rude probably got shot, and it’s not the first time that Rude’s been shot, but this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. Rude is supposed to be steadfast and unwavering and strong, the grounding force of their partnership. He’s stable and sturdy, and the sight of this man, who has pulled Reno out of danger so many times, broken and barely breathing on the ground, has Reno more shaken than he cares to admit. 

“I’m supposed to be the dramatic one,” Reno says thickly, keeping himself talking because it’s all he knows to do, as he searches for the healing materia he knows Rude has. “And here you are, laying around on the job because of a couple bullet wounds. Unbelievable.” He doesn’t have time for this, he needs… 

Swearing, he jerks one of his electro-orbs out of his jacket pocket and throws it to the door. If anyone comes running in, they’re in for a shock, triggering the electric current. It’ll be enough of a warning for Reno to be able to fight, and it gives him a sense of security as he resumes searching. Finally, precious seconds of time dripping away, he finds the materia. He’s shit at healing, but he’s going to give it his best shot. 

Reno watches, a tremor in his hands, as the bullet wounds seem to stitch themselves together, slowly. It drains the energy out of him, but he doesn’t stop, fingers clenched so hard on the materia that it starts to hurt. Healing is more Rude’s thing, or Elena’s, he almost wishes she was here, but the way he’s acting–– maybe it’s for the best that no one else sees him like that. It would almost be worth it to have someone better at this there with him.

“So nice of Shinra to finally send in backup.”

Rude’s voice stuns Reno so much that he drops the materia, and he exhales sharply as his partner’s eyes open. He can’t recall having  _ ever _ been so happy to see the deep hazel of Rude’s eyes, but it hits him like a punch in the gut. Rude is  _ alive . _

“Shinra didn’t do shit. That was all me,” Reno scoffs, all mock confidence and forced ego. Rude sees right through it, moving a hand to cover Reno’s own, resting against Rude’s stomach. It’s then that Reno realizes that he’s trembling, and it’s only Rude’s hand on his own that’s stopping it from shaking uncontrollably. 

“Only backup I need.” Groaning, Rude pushes himself up with one hand until he’s actually sitting, not just slumped against the wall. The grunt of pain he gives tells Reno that maybe his healing wasn’t as thorough as he’d hoped, but Rude can move, and he’s awake, and he’s still breathing, so Reno will take it. “Reno?” Rude asks tentatively, and Reno wonders what Rude sees in his eyes that he sounds so hesitant. But all at once, he breaks.

“I thought you were dead,” he spits out, and he has to make his voice angry, or he thinks he’ll start bawling, and he doesn’t cry. “They said –– When I couldn’t see you and all I heard was gunfire, and I didn’t think I’d get in in time to –– I thought –– I didn’t know ––” He can’t seem to find an end to any of these sentence fragments. Every ending possible sends his brain down a terrible, dark path, spiraling nearly out of control.

Rude takes both of Reno’s hands in his own, and Reno feels momentarily like a child again. Even injured, Rude is so firm and unfailing, every bit the opposite of how unstable and fully distressed that Reno feels. His dark eyes are almost unreadable, but the slight part of his lips has Reno believing that Rude is surprised. Of course he is. Reno doesn’t break. He gets angry, he gets damn near volatile and explosive, but he sure as hell doesn’t break.

“I’m not dead yet,” Rude tells him, voice steady. “And you’d be stuck with me even if I did. I’d haunt your ass; I don’t trust leaving you alone.”

Reno laughs. Maybe only to his own ears does it sound like a dry sob. “Fuck you,” he counters without heat, and he surges forward to kiss Rude firmly. It tastes like copper and salt, blood and tears, and Reno doesn’t know if he’s the one crying, or Rude is. Neither of them stops to point it out. Reno’s arms lock around Rude’s neck, nails digging into the back of his jacket, and dragging him impossibly closer. He feels like if he lets go, the world is going to shatter. Rude isn’t complaining, and Reno practically purrs when teeth nip at his lower lip.

Before anything can get hot and heavy, which, admittedly isn’t a good idea with Rude still injured and the setting being what it is, Reno’s ears perk at the electric pulsating of the orb he’d thrown towards the door. Grabbing his baton, he jumps to his feet, spinning around with a snarl. His baton is slippery with the blood that coats his hands, but he grips tighter, fully ready to fight to his death if that’s what he has to do.

“Shit, Reno,” a female voice barks out, and Reno lowers the baton automatically. 

“Elena?” He certainly hadn’t expected anyone on the same side.

She waits for the charge to disarm and steps into the room tentatively, as if Reno probably has other traps waiting. Which is a fair assessment of Reno, he doesn’t blame her. “Yeah, I’m here to pull you…” She trails off when she sees Rude just behind him, pushing himself to his feet. Reno reaches out automatically, helping his partner to stand.

“Easy, big guy. You lost a lot of blood.”

“He’s alive.” 

In Reno’s opinion, Elena has no right to sound so completely stunned, even if he had been. He shoots her a look, which she ignores, rushing to Rude’s other side to help him stand. Together, they haul Rude out of the building and through the unconscious bodies that still litter the ground. Elena has landed the helicopter nearby, and they make their way to it, lowering Rude to a seat in the back.

Tseng opens his mouth, eyes fixated on Reno, and Reno raises a hand. “Save it.” His tone is sharp and bitter. Tseng remains silent, sitting passively, quietly, in the passenger’s seat of the helicopter as Elena climbs into the pilot’s seat. Reno lowers himself into the seat next to Rude, pressing into his side with a hand on Rude’s stomach. He’s still sticky with blood, but all Reno can feel now are new scars. It’s still engraining itself in his brain. Rude is alive, he’s going to be okay. He lays his head against Rude’s shoulder, allowing himself to relax into the steady heat and grounding presence beside him. It’s more affectionate than he’s ever allowed himself to be in front of the rest of his coworkers, but he thinks he’s allowed this for a moment.

“Vice President Shinra would like to speak with you both,” Tseng informs them, tone entirely neutral.

“Vice President Shinra can choke,” Reno snaps back. Exhaustion has settled into his bones like a heavy sedative. “We’re going home.” He means to Rude’s house. It may as well be his home by now, too. 

Tseng shifts enough that he can meet Reno’s gaze. He looks… almost apologetic. “Take tomorrow to rest and recover. Both of you,” he finally sighs. “We’ll meet with the vice president after that.”

Reno sneers. “Are you sure you want me to be at full health for that particular conversation,  _ boss _ ?” He is not liable to just forgive and forget how they had no plans or intentions to send anyone to save Rude, how he’d had to disobey direct orders, and so had Elena, just to get Rude to safety. Rude shifts, like he knows he’s missing something, some key part of this conversation. But his hand just settles, strong, anchoring, against Reno’s back. Some of Reno’s anger abates, and he exhales through his nose. “You owe me an explanation,” he informs Tseng coolly.

Tseng raises both of his hands and nods narrowly, imperceptibly. “I do.”

They’re clearly not going to get into it now, but it’s almost a promise, and that’s enough for Reno, for now. He moves his hand from Rude’s stomach, up to his chest, and satisfies himself with the steady beat of Rude’s heart underneath his fingertips. Rude is alive, they’re both alive, and they’re going home together. They’ll deal with whatever the aftermath of it is later. Reno’s going to take it as it is, just for a minute. They’ll be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I was possibly most excited to write this one because I love delving into Reno a little more deeply. I'm going to enjoy writing the second chapter more, I think. As always, comments are my lifeblood, and I'm doing my best to reply to them all. You've been very kind to me and I appreciate it endlessly.


End file.
